The Bed Hopper
by charlibubble
Summary: My entry to the Jan/Feb challenge at CSIFO. Greg's apartment suffers smoke damage and he realises living with his co-workers is not as easy as he thought. couldn't help but get some GSR in there too...


**At least 2 of our CSIs move in to a house/apartment/condo together. **

**Let's make it challenging though; it can't be just a "Grissom and Sara move in together" story. Any other combination of the characters is ok, but it has to be more than just Grissom and Sara. **

**Here are your requirements (all are required)**

**1) Sara receiving a a teddy (lace negligee) from someone. (Valentines is coming up!)**

**2) Someone has to say "I know what you are up to!"**

**3) You must include a mystery of some sort. **

_**A/N ooooo this was a tricky one! and once again my 'I'm not entering this time' vow was pointless... so here is my effort. enjoy, and as always let me know what you think! **_

_**Gracias,**_

_**Charli xx**_

* * *

><p>The smell of charred furniture filled the air as Greg watched the firemen tackle the remnants of the blaze licking at the corners of his apartment building. He was coming straight off his first triple shift, exhaustion was only staved off by the promise of a warm bed and a whole day of sleep. Now there was the small problem of where he was going to live while the repairs were made or he could find another apartment. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the Denali pulling up beside the building and Nick approaching him.<p>

"Didn't we talk about barbequing indoors Greggo?" he teased as he approached his friend.

"Hey, that was last time! I just got here"

For a second they both watched the firefighters as they completed their final walk through of the building. It wasn't as bad as he had thought mostly smoke damage on the upper floors. A few weeks and a fresh coat of paint and his apartment might be livable again.

"You given your statement already?" Nick asked and Greg nodded in return, still watching the firefighters as they pulled someone's charred belongings into the street. He really, really hoped they had no need to pull any of his things out into plain view. He was sure the old lady downstairs would have a heart attack at the sight of his 'toy box.' Either that or she would love it and that worried him even more. Nick was suddenly dangling a set of keys in front of his face and he was brought back to reality.

"take the room on the right, don't eat my food and I don't wanna find any socks stuffed in my sofa" it took Greg a few seconds to catch up with his train of thought and by the time he did Nick was already walking away "don't wait up"

It felt a little weird being in Nick's apartment without him. He had been there before of course, many times in fact but never unsupervised. He had an undeniable need to snoop that just couldn't be suppressed.

He felt extremely disappointed to find that Nick didn't have a stash of sex toys or ex-girlfriend porn under his bed. The fact that Nick had specifically warned him not to eat his food made it seem all the more delicious as he flopped back on the sofa and flicked through the many, many channels Nick had subscribed to. Yet he was still really bored, Nick's computer was password protected. Probably quite rightly so, Greg suspected that was where all the _really _entertaining stuff was. He did try to hack it a few times but in the end he got bored with that too and went to bed.

He must have drifted off to sleep eventually; he had spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the ceiling plotting ways to trick Sara into going for dinner with him for Valentine's Day. So much time in fact he had even dreamed about it before being rudely awoken by a rabble outside.

It was probably lucky he wasn't body conscious as he padded into the living room in his underwear to be greeted by a gaggle of rowdy men shouting at the TV.

Football.

He hated football. He especially hated football when he was trying to get enough sleep to be considered alive on shift later that night.

"Hey Greggo, I forgot you were here. Want a beer?"

"No, I'm kinda trying to sleep."

One of the men raised his bottle in Greg's direction "Pass one over this way sunshine"

It literally took all his powers of self-control to not crack him over the head with the cursed beer bottle as he passed it over and trudged back to his room. The ceiling that had held so much inspiration last night seemed to goad him as he listened to the noise outside his room. He had forgotten just how paper thin the walls were in modern buildings and was silently thankful for his retro brick built building.

When he went to work that night he felt like he was pulling a huge weight behind him, his feet seemed to weigh ten times more than they should, his limbs moved sluggishly and his eyes drooped. He would have been the first person to jump all over his current state of undress if he was on the other end of this scenario. yesterday's T-shirt streaked with smoke and the remnants of Nick's chocolate stash and his crumpled chino's. He was incredibly thankful for the change of clothes in his locker and his stash of blue Hawaiian. By the time Catherine came into the break room he felt like a new man but apparently he didn't look like one.

"Late night Greg?"

He dramatically threw his head down on the table and groaned.

"My apartment building went on fire, I moved in with Nick and his thuggish friends kept me awake all day with their Neanderthal chanting at the football"

Catherine simply smirked as she sunk into the chair across from him with her coffee. She always looked so refreshed and energetic, that was because she lived alone. That is why most CSI's live alone; the co-living thing just wasn't worth the headache.

"He doesn't even have any porn…"

"I don't want to know Greg!" Catherine slid a magazine across the table and pretended to be really interested in reading it.

"Just a subscription to Texan Man Magazine…. Why kind of a man has no porn?" she just shook her head in an effort to avoid the subject "can I come live with you?"

He tried out his very best puppy dog eyes and he knew she caved, he knew the second she let out a groan and flipped the magazine closed that he had a home for the night that didn't involve a drunken Texan and his very loud buddies demanding beer from him.

"I don't have any porn"

"I find that hard to believe…."

"You stay out of the way of Lindsay"

"Understood"

"And I want flowers…. Every day"

"Your wish is my command"

With a flourish Catherine left the room and he slid her magazine across the table with a smile. He was going home with Catherine tonight, how many times had that scenario been one in his dreams?

"I know what you're up to"

He couldn't even see who it was around the huge bouquet of flowers but he couldn't mistake that voice for anyone else. Sara perched the vase directly in front of his face so that he had to slide over to see her. She stood there with her arms folded, looking at him through narrow eyes and an accusing expression.

"What you talkin about Sidle?" he tried his best Gary Coleman impression. Humor was always his best defense with her, even when he didn't really know what he was defending himself against.

"I will not have a replay of last valentines Greg" she threw herself down in the chair by his side and grabbed his mug to peer inside suspiciously before finishing off the last of his coffee. Last valentines he had arranged for a florist to deliver a bouquet of flowers to her every hour on the hour until she agreed to a date. He had planned to do something similar this year but had run out of time.

"I can accept no responsibility for this one Sara, I mean look at them" he half-heartedly pawed one of the champagne colored flowers "they're barely even flowers"

"They're Gardenia's Greg, they symbolize secret love" a sentimental expression cast over her face as her fingers gently caressed the petals of the flowers.

"Well then you know it's not me, my love is no secret and I always splash out for the roses!" with a wink he left her in the break room toying with the idea of a secret admirer.

He was buoyed by both the opportunity to be staying at Catherine's and the fact that Sara had a mystery admirer so the shift went by a lot faster than he thought. He tapped out a message for Nick and drove himself to Catherine's house, drumming the beat out on the steering wheel and smiling to himself as he went.

Catherine's home was welcoming as always and she showed him to the fresh and clean guest room with a smile before disappearing on a date. Lindsay was out on a sleepover so he had the house to himself. He didn't feel the same need to snoop he had at Nick's place, the truth was he feared Catherine's wrath if she was ever to catch him and in all honesty it was highly likely she would catch him. He was bone tired anyway, the result of too many late nights and noisy football fans. He lay back on the soft bed and fell into a deep soothing sleep.

He was right in the middle of a glorious naughty pirate dream when his peace was shattered, not by football fans or firefighters or late night martini calls but by a thumping and a rustling in the living room. Things were banging against the walls and falling to the floor, he was making his way to the door with the lamp in his hands to tackle the housebreaker when he suddenly realized what it was. The sighs and moans gave them away, had she forgotten he was here or did she think he wouldn't hear? It didn't matter; the end result was yet another night of disrupted sleep. Long after the bedroom acrobatics had ceased his mind was tormented by the sounds he had heard and the images that had conjured up.

The next day not even the coffee could take the edge off the deep exhaustion that had taken hold of him. In the locker room he pressed his head against his locker and the next thing he knew Warrick was shaking his shoulder and looking at him with concern.

"Never seen a guy fall asleep like that before, you ok man?"

His face ached from the cold metal of the locker; he could feel the metal imprint on his skin.

"I was staying at Catherine's last night and…. Well I heard things I didn't need to hear!" Warrick raised an eyebrow in surprise as Greg hit his head against the locker again "I can never look her in the eye again!"

"Hey man, I got a couch if you need it." He patted Greg's shoulder as he sat down on the bench by his own locker and slipped his jacket off.

"You mean it, cause I could really do with a night's sleep?"

Sara wandered into the room and glanced at the two men before opening her locker and being assaulted by a huge red balloon. Greg couldn't help but laugh at her expression and the genius who had performed such a feat not only without Sara knowing about it but with him snoozing on the locker next door.

"Oh very funny Greg!" she spat as she reached out for the string, just noticing the strand of silver glinting in the dim light. It was a necklace with a small tear drop shaped stone dangling from it and a card. Sara held the card and read aloud, barely louder than a whisper "Tanzanite; opens the heart"

"Hey, I don't even have the energy for such shenanigan's Sara. Wish I had thought of that though"

"A secret admirer? You're chalking them up these days girl!" Warrick smiled "the police officer on our case yesterday was asking her out too"

"He was not!" she quickly stuffed the balloon back into her locker and retreated out of the room, he was sure she was actually blushing.

Somehow he survived the day; he was impressed at his dedication. A younger Greg would not have hesitated to call in sick and spend the night in bed. He wasn't sure he was a fan of grown up Greg who honored his responsibilities. He was however looking forward to an entire 12 hour sleep; a couch was better than the live porn show he was subjected to yesterday.

He had wholly underestimated the amount of sleep he would get at Warrick's. For a start the couch was the most uncomfortable, sticky leather he had ever had the misfortune of experiencing. He felt as though every time he turned round he was peeling off another layer of skin. Secondly, Warrick was a known gambler. What Greg did not know was that he kept his computer in the living area and he was a sore loser when playing poker.

He spent the entire time Greg was there tapping and clicking and clicking his tongue and whistling and just generally being irritating to the point that Greg gave up and heaved himself out of the apartment in despair. He wasn't on call that day but he could at least make himself useful if he was destined to spend the rest of his days as a non-sleeping zombie.

He spotted Sara's car pulling in front of him and smiled. The non-sleeping zombie's had to stick together and Sara had been a long time member of that particular club. She didn't notice him though; she marched into the building and straight to the locker room with Greg close on her heels.

There was an envelope stuck to the front of her locker, her frown as she held it in her hands soon turned to a smile as she read the contents and collided with him as she made her way out of the room.

"Did I spy a name on there Sidle?"

She hastily stuffed the envelope and its contents in her pocket.

"That's none of your business Greg, what are you even doing here?"

"I think its best I live on my own for the rest of my life Sara, I'm sorry if that's difficult for you"

She furrowed her brow but something caught her eye and she started to move along the corridor. He was beginning to find it difficult to hold her attention lately.

"I think I'll survive. I have to go catch up to Grissom but call me later ok?"

The rest of shift was spent pondering his fate, he was definitely not cut out for a stint at the YMCA he would most certainly end up more traumatized than he was at Catherine's house. he toyed with the idea of asking Grissom but he knew that even if Grissom wasn't completely appalled at the idea the bugs would most definatley creep him out. A motel was really his only choice, or so he thought until he had an epiphany while stealing a few moments solitude in the shower room. Sara was off shift tonight, she would never turn down his sad face and stack of beers and he knew for a fact that her couch was one of the comfiest he had ever slept on.

He couldn't find her at shift change and no-one knew where she was. It was strange for her to be leaving work early, she was usually the first in and last out. Well, Sara or Grissom but surely the boss was expected to be there all the time?

He got something to eat and a box of chocolates for bribery purposes on the way. Since he had significantly let Sara down with the valentines gifts this year he popped into a nearby lingerie store and picked her up a tiny black lace teddy. She would most certainly throw it at him in disgust but he would be entertained anyway.

He trudged up the stairs to her door feeling completely drained of all life. When he knocked she was usually quite quick to answer, she never went to sleep straight away and her apartment was tiny so she was never far from the door but today there was nothing. He couldn't hear her TV or her stereo through the door either. He was sure she hadn't told him of any plans, not that she was particularly vocal about her private life but he liked to think he knew enough to expect her to be home right now.

He was about to give up when he remembered about the spare key she had graced him with a couple of years ago. He had never had cause to use it, she was always with him when he was at her apartment and he was sure it was intended for emergencies. If this didn't count as an emergency then he didn't know what did.

He felt at home in Sara's house, he kicked himself for not thinking about this before. Of course this was the best option. He was the only one who came round and shouted at the TV, she was practically a reborn virgin and she didn't stay up all night on online casinos. The only social life she could claim to have was himself and he was in no mood for a night on the tiles. He sunk back into the soft sofa and wrapped her blanket around him. It smelled of her that specially trademarked Sidle Scent and he was lost to dreamland in seconds.

It was dark outside and still when he was woken. He must have been asleep for a good few hours because he felt alive and refreshed for the first time in days. His chocolate and lingerie lay on the table untouched and Sara's keys weren't on their hook like they usually were suggesting she wasn't home yet.

He glanced at his watch, it was 4pm Sara had been missing since 6am. A knot of worry wound itself in his stomach until he heard her laughing in the corridor outside. While he was relieved she was ok he was intrigued about what could have kept her away from home for this long, besides him of course. He peered through the spyhole hoping to catch a glimpse of who the muffled male voice belonged to but she was stood right in front of the door with her back to him.

He almost granted himself a black eye when he pressed his ear to the door in an effort to hear better and she opened it with a flourish.

Then he wasn't sure what to do. He was trapped behind the door, if he tried to run back to the couch she would see him and know he had been spying but one thing was for sure when she opened that door he heard that voice clearer and he almost exploded with excitement when he realized who it belonged to.

He pressed himself firmly against the wall and tried to stay invisible as he peered through the space between the door and the wall.

"I had a really great time today"

He held his breath for fear of her finding him and waiting for confirmation of his suspicions about the male voice accompanying her to her door. As he squinted to look through the space he saw that unmistakable salt and pepper hair leaning in towards Sara. He saw her close her eyes and gently place her hand on his chest. He could feel the tension settling thick in the air as their lips met and she almost visibly deflated.

This was one hot piece of gossip he couldn't bear to keep to himself, his fingers were itching to tap out the message there and then but his cell phone was across the other side of the room. He stared at it, half trying to use telekinesis to bring it to him and half trying to think of a way to explain his presence to Sara when she saw his cell phone and his make shift bed and him hiding behind the door. This was not a good situation.

Her companion left the building and she watched him go. He could only see part of her, her fingers dancing on the tiny chain hung around her neck that had earlier been attached to a balloon.

"Ok Greg, you can come out now!"

He cursed her super-powers and then realized his shoes were haphazardly thrown across the room and his chocolates and lingerie were on full display.

"How'd you know I was here?"

"You're not exactly great at becoming invisible Greg and it was only a matter of time before you came to my door"

she stood there in front of him, hands on hips trying to look judgemental but she couldn't keep the smile from tugging at the corners of her mouth, she couldn't suppress that new found sparkle in her eyes. Sara was_ happy_. that was something else.

"Grissom? It was Grissom?"

She smiled as she slipped her jacket off and opened the box of chocolates, popping one in her mouth and purposefully avoiding the question.

"And you still kissed him knowing I would see?"

He beamed from ear to ear as he slipped the box out of her hands and flopped down on the sofa with them. She blushed red from head to toe and sat down beside him, his arm slung around her shoulders as he flicked on a trashy vintage horror movie. "I love these chocolates… and anyway… he kissed me"


End file.
